Video Game Violence Is Under Attack

Legislation '98

Activists Want To Ban Graphic Arcade Games For Anyone Under 18, Saying The Games Accelerate Real-life Violence.

April 3, 1998|By Karla Schuster Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE — Murder, mayhem and grand theft auto - it's all in a day's play at the local arcade.

But it might not be for long.

A proposal to limit children's access to violent video games got a boost Thursday when a diverse coalition of lawmakers and activists led by Gov. Lawton Chiles threw its support behind what would be the first regulation of the video industry in the nation.

``I'm afraid some kids won't realize that when you shoot someone in real life, slipping another quarter in the machine won't bring them back,'' Chiles said at a news conference.

Backers of the House and Senate bills (HB 3341 and SB 696) hope the support can generate enough momentum to push the measure, which has so far languished in committee, through the Legislature this year.

The bills, sponsored by Rep. Barry Silver, D-Boca Raton, and Sen. John Grant, R-Tampa, would require arcades to segregate games with graphic violence, prohibit anyone younger than 18 from playing them, and levy fines of up to $10,000 for violations.

Fueled in recent years by studies showing the possible link between video violence and real-life incidents, the public backlash against the video industry has forced it to take steps to regulate itself with rating systems and warning labels.

So far, though, states' attempts to regulate the industry have failed, and the federal government has preferred the bully pulpit over legislation, primarily because of concerns such bans would not withstand a constitutional challenge.

``Some are worried about a slippery slope if we begin this kind of restriction, but I am far more concerned about the moral abyss our children are sliding into,'' Silver said.

On Thursday, the plan drew support from the Florida Parent-Teachers Association, Attorney General Bob Butterworth, the Christian Coalition and several law-enforcement groups.

Local arcade operators and industry groups argue that government regulations are unnecessary, expensive and impossible to enforce.

``Our video games are nowhere near as explicit as what I see on TV,'' said Barry Golder, operations manager of Grand Prix Racerama, a Hollywood arcade.

``If you've ever been here on a weekend, you'd know there's no way to police who's using a game, and what one person finds offensive another person might not. It should be up to the parents.''

In a deal with Congress late last year, the three largest industry associations created a voluntary rating system based on the sexual and violent context or obscene language in a game.

Posters will be voluntarily hung next to games indicating their rating. Eventually manufacturers will install the rating into machines before distribution, said Bob Fay, executive director of American Amusement Machine Association.